My name is Ms. Huffman and I am so excited for this new group of Kindergartners! We will be working collaboratively throughout the year as your child explores. Your child will grow as a self - directed learner who is a concerned, confident and compassionate citizen of the world. Through building supportive relationships with my students I will provide a safe and encouraging environment supporting and guiding them as they evolve as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, problem solvers and artists.
I have been a part of the QAE community since 2010. I worked in the primary classrooms with three different wonderful teachers from QAE building relationships, acquiring multiple teacher strategies and finishing off my student teaching with Mrs. Cryan- Leary. I am so thankful and honored to start my career at QAE and learn and grow together.
When I am not at school you can find me spending time with my family and friends, listening to my husband play the piano, in the yoga studio or doing yoga on the beach when weather permits. I love spending time outdoors, traveling, camping, hiking or going on 10 mile walks around the city. I am newly married and look forward to many new adventures to come.
What we do at school all day... Our days may change from day to day, as our learning grows and is student directed, but here is an example of a "typical" day. 9:25 - Opening Bell / Morning Message 9:35 - Morning Meeting 9:45- Interactive Read Aloud 9:55-10:40 - Exploration Stations -Math Workshop 10:40-10:55 - Recess 10:55 - 11:10 Snack, Brain Pop & Sharing 11:10- 11:45 - Exploration Stations _math Workshop 12:00 - 12:40 Recess and Lunch 12:40 - 1:00 Phonics/ Reading Horizons 1:10 - 1:30 Readers Workshop 1:35- 1:50 Recess 1:50 - 2:25 Writers workshop 2:25- 2:55 ART/PE 2:55 - Choice Time 3:15 - Class Meeting 3:25 Clean Up/ Pack Up/ Do Jobs 3:35 - Share Reading/ Goodbyes 3:40 - Bell
Volunteering at QAE I hope that all of you find a way to help out at our school this year! It is a lot of fun for the kids and for the adult volunteers! If you are able to make the commitment to volunteer regularly in the classroom, fabulous! We love having the help! At Curriculum Night (Thurs, Sept. 25th) I will show you how to sign up for classroom volunteer time slots on our volunteer spot website. When you sign up for a spot, I will work with you to determine what classroom work you are most comfortable doing. Ways to help in the classroom include working directly with the students, helping prepare for upcoming projects (cutting or copying paper), scanning student work for e-folios, emptying/stuffing go-home folders, etc.
To work in the classroom on a regular basis, you must take a volunteer training session. (See school website for schedule into). In the training you will learn about classroom expectations, adult boundaries, addressing discipline, and how to use equipment and find supplies. You will also need to fill out background check paperwork, now required by the Seattle Public Schools for all volunteers who have any contact with children. Karen Rang, our Administrative Assistant in the main office, can help you fill out this paperwork.
In addition to regularly scheduled classroom volunteers, there will be lots of opportunities for volunteers to help out. You can sign up for a single time slot, volunteer for one of the classroom parent jobs (see list below), chaperone a field trip, attend a literacy celebration or school assembly, teach us about a special talent or skill you want to share, etc. If you can't get to our campus, you can visit the work we are doing on our classroom website and your student's e-folios and make comments from your home.
Parent Classroom Jobs:
Room Parent
Volunteer Coordinator
Technology coordinator ~ download pictures, scan & post student work Kidblog.
Blog with kids
Party planner ~ coordinate our two class parties, on Halloween and Valentines' Day
Class photographer ~ take class photos throughout the year for the yearbook and website
Auction liason ~ coordinate a class art project for the auction in March.
If you have any interest in taking any of these on, please let me know! Thank you all in advance for all of the support you will provide your kindergartner this year.It is invaluable!
Beginning of the Year Info Parent Communication STAY CONNECTED! I will be using this website to share all of the exciting learning that is happening in Room 112. I will regularly (my goal is each Monday evening) post photos, videos, student and teacher reflections and logistical information on the Class Blog! tab of this site. Please make a commitment to visit our Class Blog with your student on a regular basis (I recommend every Tuesday evening), helping your student reflect on his or her learning and helping us extend our learning beyond our classroom walls! You are all real world resources that can add so much to our learning with your comments and questions!
@Mshuffmanqae
At Curriculum Night, I will walk you through our classroom website and the resources it contains.
Classroom Supplies Instead of having students bring school supplies, our school collects a $150 supply fee from each child. $100 is used for your child's one-to -one I-Pad. Supply fees are used to buy all of the classroom supplies, art and project materials needed in bulk and with our education discounts. Using community supplies teaches students to share with others and treat materials with respect so that they last longer. Checks will be collected the first week of school and can be made out to Queen Anne Elementary. If you are financially unable, just let me know.
Pick Up/Drop Off On the first day of school, you are welcome to walk your child into our classroom and greet other kindergartners and family members. When the 9:30 bell rings, I will ask the students to wave goodbye to their family members and come sit with me on the teaching carpet. Please do your best to say goodbye and leave. It is usually much harder for the parents than the students!! Please make sure your information is correct if you gave it to me at Open House. If there is no information listed for your student, please fill in how they will get home. If they are picked up, please provide the names and positions of the people other than parents that have permission to pick up (ie. nanny, grandparent, family friend. )
After the first day, you are welcome to drop your students off at the playground 15 minutes before the first bell rings. When the bell rings, your students will line up on our class spot and I will come get them to start the day. At the end of the day, I will walk the students out and you may meet your child out on the playground, in front of our classroom. Before taking your student, please make sure you make eye contact with me so we know they are safe. I will have an adult walk students riding a bus out to the bus lines as well. Kids Co friends will walk together to the portable (in eye sight of me). If your child is ever to go home in a different way than what is "typical" it is really important that you write an email to let me know. Often, kindergarteners will get mixed up!
Snack This year, we are moving away from a rotation of family-provided snacks and asking families to send an individual snack to school with their student each day. Please send healthy, nutritious snacks. During snack time, students will take turns sharing (show and tell with a theme). A sharing schedule will be handed out on curriculum night and then posted on our class blog.
Birthdays At QAE we love birthdays. We love to celebrate them and realize this is an important part of elementary school. We also believe that we can celebrate them in a meaningful and fun way without filling our kids with sugar. Therefore, if you choose to celebrate your child’s birthday at school, you may do so by donating a book in their name to the classroom. We like to celebrate by having a small discussion about how your child has traveled around the sun on this Earth with a song and compliments. Please let me know if you would like to join this celebration.
Extra Clothes Accidents happen! Please send an extra pair of clothes to school in a plastic bag with your child's name on it. Your student will store the bag in his or her cubby to be used if needed. If you notice them wearing their back up clothing home for any reason, please send it back in because often accidents happen more than once a year in kindergarten!
Homework We will talk about this more in depth at curriculum night. However, the kindergarten team believes that kindergartners work very hard throughout the day and we don’t want them (or you) stressing about homework at home. Therefore, we will give families ideas of activities (both on-line and off-line) that can be done at home to help students’ learning - but it will be done on your own time frame.
Orange Folders Each child will have an orange folder that they will bring to and from home daily. They will bring home their daily work to show to you, as well as field trip forms, etc. Please get in the habit of checking this folder daily. If you have anything for me, please send it back to school in the orange folder as I check them daily.